CNN will host a Republican presidential primary
debate in Las Vegas on Oct. 18, it was announced Wednesday. The Republican
National Committee has chosen Nevada as one of the first states to vote in the
primaries come 2012.
The debate will be part of the four-day Western
Republican Leadership Conference being held at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas
the week of Oct. 17. WRLC attendees will have an opportunity to participate in
the questioning of the candidates.
"Nevada is
the gateway to the West in the 2012 Republican presidential primary," said Sam
Feist, CNN's political director and vice president of Washington programming.
"This is an opportunity for GOP presidential candidates to speak, in person, to
Nevada Caucus-goers as well as voters from the 15 other states and territories
represented by the Western Region."
CNN will
also co-host two other previously announced Republican primary debates, one in
Manchester, N.H., on June 7 and another in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 12.
